Daily Archives: February 17, 2012

ARCTIC BOOK SIGNING

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            Did I go way up north for a book signing? Spend several hours bundled up as I struggled to sign books while wearing two pairs of gloves?

            Last Saturday, I spent four hours at a local authors book signing fair—and came home feeling like I had a solid covering of ice on me. But no, I didn’t travel far up north to the frozen tundra. Nor did the facility accidentally activate their air conditioning unit.

            The Cannon River Winery inCannon Falls,Minnesotaheld their First Annual Local Authors Fair onFebruary 11, 2012. Because of the wine, they needed to keep it cool. In their advertisement, they promised a warm, comfortable atmosphere. As the frigid air hit me, I couldn’t help laughing a bit at that.

            Aside from shivering and shuddering from the frosty atmosphere, it was fun. More than a dozen local writers took part in the fair, representing everything from romance and mystery to history and action adventure, along with books for children and young adult books. I sat with a friend who’d self-published a caregiver novel (back before the indi publishing came about), while across from me was a man who writes action adventure.

            One of the things I learned from this signing was that most of the writers claim far greater sales from ebooks than paperback or hardcover. These days, the consumer has less discretionary income than ever and is unwilling to spend big bucks. They’d rather buy several books at a lower cost than one more expensive book in paperback or hardcover.

            I definitely fit into the cheap buyer category, being a collector of books, or, as I sometimes claim, a bookaholic. I now have over 300 books on my desktop Kindle and almost ten pages of books on my Nook.

            Back to the signing. I was pleased with the result, having sold four books. But, more than that, I enjoyed meeting other writers, learning their stories. The couple at the table behind mine had gathered many letters from family members and relatives. Those letters were all written by a Civil War soldier, an amazing find. The couple compiled the collection into a narrative form, resulting in a thick hardcover priced somewhere around $30.00. They were a fun older couple from somewhere near or inRochester,Minnesotaand belong to an historical organization. The husband wore a Union uniform while his wife was dressed in the style of the times. I couldn’t help thinking of the books I’d read that were set during those times, and the trip I took toCharleston,South Carolina. It was there I visited the park containing a cannon from the Civil War. Seeing the old but well kept homes made it easy to imagine myself living in those times, especially after taking a carriage ride through the beautiful old city.

            I also talked with a man who had a YA fantasy novel, published through a small publisher, and gained some useful information from him in regards to editing. The covers for his published book, and the next one, which isn’t out yet, are especially beautiful and I intend to investigate that publishing company as I have a YA adventure novel I want to have published.

            All in all, I’d say the major benefit of the book signing fair was the camaraderie, meeting the authors, getting away from the solitude inherent in being a writer. Somehow, it is encouraging, even though surviving in the industry is difficult.

            Despite the giant bins of ice behind my table, which contributed in a big way to put the layers of ice around my body, I’m glad I took part in the fair and will do so again. Hopefully, the temperature outside won’t be zero, as it was when we started out from home that day.

           

Joan K. Maze

Writing as J. K. Maze

www.joanmaze.com

http://sleuthingwithmollie.wordpress.com

http://homicideandmayhem.wordpress.com

Murder By Mistake, book 1 in the Mollie Fenwick Mystery Series, available as an ebook from Red Rose Publishing, B&N, Fictionwise and Amazon

Murder By Mistake, book 1 in the Mollie Fenwick Mystery Series, available in paperback from Amazon

Murder For Kicks, book 2 in the Mollie Fenwick Mystery Series, available as an ebook from Red Rose Publishing, Fictionwise and Amazon

Framed In Fear, romantic suspense, available from Red Rose Publishing, Fictionwise and Amazon

Murder By Spook, book 3 in the Mollie Fenwick Mystery Series, in progress

The Language of Flowers

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As I discussed last week roses have a special meaning depending on color.  This can actually delve deeper depending on variety but I’ll leave that alone because it is simply too much. Instead, I’m going to share with you a little symbolism behind flowers, and then I’ll explain the traditional language of flowers that became highly prevalent during the Victorian era.

Flowers as a whole have had distinct meanings for centuries. Take color for instance white flowers typically mean innocence and purity.  A common color for funerals – there is something distinctly sacred in death that defies color – a blank slate as you enter heaven, or a cleansing of sin. Even a bride wears white to signify virginity and wholesomeness; flowers can mimic the same sentiments.

Take a look at the Iris – it’s the state flower of Tennessee, the inspiration for the French Fleur De Lis, a symbol in many a royal family, the designated flower for a 25th wedding anniversary, and the birth flower for February.   It has several meanings such as wisdom, honor, and valor.  Nearly every flower has a list as impressive as the Iris – flowers might just be pretty to look at but they also have a voice and a place in this world.

In Victorian times and Regency, people rode in horse drawn carriages.  If they were lucky the carriage was enclosed, but if they wanted to be seen, as much of the peerage did, they took pride in riding though the parks in an open-faced coach.  Now, the problem to this is that you would be facing the sour end of a horse.  Therefore, women carried what is called a nose gay.  A small bundle of flowers in which to bury their nose and relieve themselves of the stench of the horse, the river, or any other multitude of things.  Typically, the nosegay was comprised of an ornate metal container with a loop at the bottom.  A woman would loop her pinky or ring finger through it, leaving the rest of the holder resting against her gloved palm.

There are oodles of stories around that explain how flowers actually began to have significant language.  The one that resonated with me is of a sad and lonely wife of a Duke, who was dreadfully unhappy to be separated from her true love.  In time, the pair circumvented the rigidness of society and found a way to be together.  Unfortunately, in those times a man couldn’t send an email or call her up on the phone to arrange a meeting. He would not want to write her a note incase her husband found it and they were discovered.  Between the two of them, they created a complex language of flowers in order to communicate with one another.  For example, he might send a nose gay, or another small handheld bouquet called a tussie mussie, with a red rose (love), a Scottish thistle (Scotland), some chickweed (a rendezvous), some purple hyacinth (sport), and just for grins a little geranium (conjugal affection).  His message might be interpreted as My love, meet me in Scotland for a rendezvous of sport and conjugal affection.   

A few more — If an arrangement included basil, pansies, and a sweet pea, it would mean Best wishes and loving thoughts on your departure.   A mix of an cymbidium orchid , a laurel leaf, and some juniper, might mean magnificent success on your new home.

The list goes on and on.  Over time this tradition grew into society and was, and still is, used in bridal bouquets and anniversary gifts.  I spoke earlier about Irises, the traditional have the meaning of “I Promise.”  So a bride might carry a bouquet of Iris, with white, pink, and red roses, meaning I promise you my innocence, my beauty, and my love.

There is an entire language open for interpretation on flowers.  Personally I’m enamored by how beautiful the sentiments can be behind something so beautiful.I love determining the meaning by color and interpretation to come up with something that truly speaks from my heart, something physical and artistic that words can not describe.

Next week I’m going to finish up my month long devotion to flowers with a piece about why you should support your local florist.  For today please comment with any flower you’d like to know the meaning of and I’d be happy to get back with you tonight about what they mean and what symbolism they might have.

Toodles,

Michelle